Chapter 6
Friday - 12 July
Tonks would receive her owl from Director Bones about the time that Harry and Remus were leaving for Gringotts. She would be gone by noon. Ginny had been invited to go along. She elected to stay and study.
Dumbledore had previously made Harry several two-way portkeys. One would take him to Hogsmede station and back to his car park, one to Gringotts, one to Hermione's home, and one to the Weasley Burrow. Each of them was keyword activated.
Harry and Remus took the portkey to Gringotts. Harry went to the counter and asked for Griphook. The goblin came over and showed Harry into one of the meeting rooms. Remus insisted on waiting in the lobby. Harry explained what he wanted to do. Harry expanded the trunk and redeposited the Galleons that Remus had found. Griphook took careful notes for a minute while Harry read off the names and amounts. Harry handed Griphook the notes that he wanted delivered to each of those that had deposits transferred into their accounts. "Please excuse me Mr. Potter. I will return in a few minutes."
Harry recalled writing each of the notes.
DearSirius Black asked that I distribute a portion of his estate to those that we considered friends and family. A deposit of was made into your account reflecting our wishes. The money is yours. Please consider using a portion of it to help someone who could use a hand.
Harry Potter
Griphook came back with four boxes containing keys, each with a name. "These witches and wizards did not have accounts. I set them up as regular accounts. Here is the box for Hermione Granger, for Ronald Weasley, for Ginevra Weasley. He handed Harry another box. "Here is the key for the victims trust account. I trust that it is your wish to deliver the boxes yourself?" Harry nodded, not sure of what he would say. "As such there is no letter being sent to them."
Griphook continued. "Mr. Potter, you asked me to look into your parent's estate. There is indeed an estate. There is also a trust fund, but I do not yet have sufficient details on that."
"Griphook, could you manage all of my accounts for me?"
"Certainly Mr. Potter if that is your wish, I would be honored to serve you."
"It is. Who should I talk with, or what would you like me to sign?"
"Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Potter."
Ragnot came in a moment later with Griphook. "Is it your wish that Griphook handle all of your accounts, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes, please."
"Very well Mr. Potter." He left the room to tell one of the other goblins that they were back to driving the little carts.
Griphook asked Harry to wait one more minute. He returned and handed Harry several documents. "Here is a credit card, here is a book of bank drafts, and here is a coin case. You hold the case in your hand, identify the amount and currency that you wish, and it will be found inside the case when you open it. That way, you do not need to carry a trunk full of galleons or other currency when you make large purchases. The credit card is issued from Barclays and can be used anywhere in the nonmagical world. The bank drafts can be used for larger purchases in the wizarding world. The driver license and insurance card will serve as appropriate identification should you require it. Please come back in a few years, and we will correct your birthdate. I will owl you in a few days when I have the specifics regarding your other accounts. Is that acceptable, Mr. Potter?"
"It is perfect. Thank you for your help Griphook." Harry turned to leave, and asked, "Griphook, would it be OK if I used this room for a few minutes to talk with someone?"
"Of course, Mr. Potter. I'll get him for you."
Remus walked in, with a good idea of what the conversation would be. Harry started. "Remus were my parents wealthy?"
This was the discussion that Remus had been expecting. He was saddened that it wasn't Dumbledore who'd had it with Harry five years ago.
"Wealth is relative Harry. Arthur Weasley would have always told anyone who asked that he was a wealthy man, having so much family. Now he has some money to go with it. Today you most likely made me a very wealthy man, in that I had never made more than two thousand Galleons a year in my life. Relative to the Blacks, your parents were wealthy. Relative to your parents' funds, the Potter Trust is large." Remus tried to convey his point, "Harry, at some point, the specifics don't really matter. If you own interests in two businesses or fifty, you still only need one pair of shoes at a time. Yes you are a very wealthy man Harry, but like Dumbledore says, being a pampered prince is not your nature Harry. Helping people is your nature. Do not be ashamed by your wealth Harry, but do not be awed by it either. Does that make sense?"
Harry nodded. Why hadn't Dumbledore told him? He could have at least made sure that Harry had decent clothing or shoes to wear.
Remus continued. "What does matter is that you have a Will with some designated beneficiaries, and an institutional beneficiary. I take it that you are hearing most of this for the first time today?"
Harry nodded. Remus felt angry with Dumbledore. He had let Harry down in so many ways. He vowed not to let it happen to his young friend again.
They took the portkey back home. A minute later they took the portkey to the Burrow. Molly was surprised to see them, but gave Harry a huge hug. "Harry it is lovely to see you. Is everything all right? How is Ginny? How is your house project coming?"
"I am fine, Mrs. Weasley. Ginny is fine, and the house is coming along great. Is Ron around?"
"Yes. He's in the paddock flying with Luna."
"I'll wait here Harry," said Remus.
Molly said, "Wait Harry, before you go, Rita Skeeter was around yesterday asking if I knew where you were. I told her that I hadn't seen you since you were informed about their deaths."
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley. We will be very careful. I need to see Ron for a minute."
"We love you, dear."
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," said Harry as he walked out into the back garden.
Harry walked over to the paddock and saw his two friends having fun on their broomsticks. Luna was throwing balls, and Ron was (generally) catching them. Ron saw Harry and they flew over. "Hi Harry. I thought that you were locked up for the summer?"
"I am Ron. Thanks for reminding me. I'm taking care of some of the details from Sirius' estate. He left you this." Harry handed Ron the Gringotts case, and the letter that Harry had written.
Ron opened the case first. "Wow, Harry. Is this my own Gringotts account key?"
"Yes Ron. Sirius wanted you to have it. Use it well. I need to go now. I'll see you later. Bye Luna."
"Bye Harry. Luna waved at him and smiled."
There was a scream from inside. Molly had received her letter. Remus called, "Harry, we'd better get going. Ron, you'd better look after your Mum for a bit. She's just received quite a shock."
They left the burrow and went back to Grimmauld place. A few minutes later, Professor Flitwick knocked on their door. Dobby let the old wizard in. He was carrying a trunk and expanded it as he came in. "Hello Mr. Potter. It's good to see you. I am happy to help you wire your home. Typically outlets are placed about every six feet and at a specific height. I would like you please to mark where you would like the outlets and the switches placed. I will work on the circuit box bringing the power in from the outside electric line. When you have finished, please collect me and I will show you how to run the wirers through the walls."
Harry and Ginny walked from room to room marking locations and cutting the cabling into the proper lengths as Flitwick had demonstrated.. Ginny said, "Dad would go crazy if he was able to see this."
Harry thought about Mr. Weasley's obsession with plugs and smiled at his friend. "Do you really like my hair this way?" He had it pulled back tied with a black leather lace.
She gave him a quick kiss in the cheek. "I love the way that you look."
For a moment, electrical outlets were the last things on Harry's mind. "Thanks Gin. I really like the way that you look too." Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a few seconds, smiling. They had finished marking all of the spots. They found professor Flitwick who had just finished putting in the circuit box. He showed them how to magically run the wires through the walls, and divided the house appropriately so any one area wouldn't be overloaded. Next he connected the switches and outlets. Finally he had Harry look at various ceiling lights that he had brought. The expandable trunk that he brought had a wide selection. He picked put lights for the bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, entranceway, the library, the study, the great room, the cellar, and the hallways. He recommended that Harry leave the third floor open area with the gas lamps, as they were less affected by strong magic in the event that Harry were to use this room for training.
Flitwick was very impressed with the work that Dobby, Winky, and the others had accomplished in a very short period of time. They walked from room to room, with Flitwick finishing the wiring, and mounting the outlets and ceiling lights. Harry was extremely grateful to the Professor for helping him and told him so. "Actually Harry, it is my pleasure. I always have enjoyed wiring, but rarely have the opportunity to practice. Most older wizards and witches fail to see the need, and most younger witches and wizards can't afford it." Harry asked the professor how much he owed him. "The wiring, switches, outlets, circuit box, outside connection and fixtures come to 3,300 Galleons, but you can pay me anytime that it is convenient. Harry asked him, if he preferred cash or a Gringotts draft. "Whatever's easier for you Harry. I had more fun today than I expect to all summer." Harry went to the study and wrote Flitwick a draft for 3,500 Galleons, placed it in an envelope, and brought one of the bottles of Napoleon brandy with him.
"Thank you very much Professor. I expect that I will like my home much more now. Please accept this as well."
"You may indeed, Mr. Potter. Thank you very much. Your home will be lighter and brighter. However, I expect that you will find that it isn't the things that bring happiness to a home, rather the people. He smiled at both of them. Enjoy your holidays." He packed up his trunk, shrunk it, placed it back in his pocket, opened the back door and vanished.
That evening Remus went back to his cottage. Winky made Harry and Ginny dinner, and announced that she and Dobby would be back tomorrow in time to make dinner, leaving them alone to fend for themselves for the evening. As he was locking the doors, Harry received an owl from Mundungus.
Dear Mr. Potter.
Thank you so very much for the gift of the two cases of Napoleon Brandy. It will warm my heart for many an evening. I made the deliveries that you requested. Moody's eyeball fell out when he realized that he had received!!! Without losing body parts, everyone else was very appreciative as well.
In the small package, please find ten identical boxes. I had the loose diamonds made into diamond stud earrings. They were matched by size. The diamonds ranged from 1.95 to 2.25 carrots. Please consider saving the sixteen others that you have. Any of them would make a fine engagement ring, should the occasion arise. They range from 2.25 to 2.5 carrots.
It was a pleasure serving you Mr. Potter. Please contact me again if I can be of any assistance.
Mundungus Fletcher
After dinner Harry asked Ginny where Tonks had gone. Ginny looked a bit surprised that he was asking. "She said that Director Bones unexpectedly reassigned her to do some surveillance work. She packed up her things while you were gone, and left crying. Did you send her away?"
Harry looked surprised. He wondered if she was mad at him over the other night. "No. This is the first that I heard of it. "Gin, what are you doing tomorrow? Remus and I are going to Harrods to pick out some furniture, and I'd like you to come along. I asked Hermione and her mother to meet us there. She probably knows what goes with what a lot more than I do."
Ginny was anxious for a moment. First Tonks went after Harry, now he made arrangements to see Hermione. Then she thought about it for a moment. She had never set foot in a furniture store in her life. Tonk's taste was typically Goth or bizarre. Her mother couldn't really help, and Harry was looking in a muggle store. He'd made the logical choice, and he hadn't made a big deal about it. She smiled and replied, "I'd love to go. What time?"
"Remus will take us. He said that we'd have to leave at 11:30 to get there by 1:00."
Harry was obviously nervous about something. Ginny got up to get them a few butterbeers. She handed him one. His hand touched hers for a moment as he accepted the bottle. She could feel his magic. "Thanks. Ginny, I have something for you from Sirius." This was not what she had expected. Why would Harry be nervous over giving her a second hand watch or something?
Harry reached into his pocket and handed her a small flat case and a letter. "Here," he said. "There is a letter to go with it. I'll be right back. Go ahead and open it." He walked into the kitchen to get them each a biscuit. Walking back, he heard an excited shriek.
"Harry. Is this for real? A hundred thousand Galleons! That's a lot of money. Can I share this with my family? Thank you sooo much!!!"
Harry smiled at the kind heart of his friend and thought, 'She really is a fantastic young lady. Always thinking of others.' Harry came in and handed her a biscuit. "There's no need to. Everybody got some. Your Mum just about fainted when she got her letter. Sirius asked that your parents, and your brothers except Percy all get something. I went to Gringotts to make the transfers and open the accounts earlier today. We dropped Ron's key off this morning."
Ginny's heart was racing. "Harry, how rich was Sirius?"
"I'm not exactly sure. The stuff that we sold this morning netted a bit more than a million Galleons."
"Cor Blimey, and he lived off rats for a year?"
Harry nodded. "His life really stunk. He didn't get along with his Mum while he was growing up, got sent to prison when he was twenty one, spent twelve years in Hell for a crime that he had nothing to do with, and spent the last years in hiding."
Ginny could see that Harry was talking himself into a funk. To get him to refocus, she asked him to practice growing and shrinking his hair. Harry tried a half dozen times and each time it got a bit easier. Finally it was time to go to sleep. They cuddled up on the couch together. Harry had transfigured a handkerchief into a light blanket and put it around them. "Goodnight Ginny," whispered Harry. He gently kissed the back of her neck, sending tingles of delight down to her toes.
"Night, Harry," she said, melting herself into him. Harry dreamed that Voldemort was talking with Wormtail about checking out a house immediately prior to a raid. Harry woke up at four, realizing that he was cupping something that he didn't have permission to be holding. He gently got up, covered Ginny with the blanket and went into the kitchen to finalize his shopping list.
Saturday Remus arrived at eleven, and went over the list with Harry. He would look for some workout equipment while Harry and the Grangers looked at furniture. Ginny would look for sheets, pillows, and bedspreads. Remus took the ancient BMW out of the car park and they drove to the car park by Harrods. They met Hermione and her mother, Dr. Emma Granger inside the store. Harry explained that he was looking for furniture for an entertainment room, six guest bedrooms and a master bedroom. He needed window treatments for two dozen windows, and had measurements for each of the rooms and windows. He also wanted a large television, a DVD player, and a CD player. He hoped to put them in an entertainment center.
Hermione's Mum had obviously thought this through. She started by explaining in very general terms the different styles of furniture that Harry might consider. Harry decided that he liked a light oak finish, and comfortable, more informal furniture. He explained that the first floor of brownstone had a library, kitchen, a large formal room that he wanted to make into an entertainment room, an entranceway, and several loos. On the second floor, there were a total of eight bedrooms and two loos. On the third floor was a study and a large open area and two loos. Emma was surprised at the size of it. "That's a lot of home to furnish Harry. How much of it were you planning on furnishing to start with?"
Harry replied, "The study, the library and one of the bedrooms are OK. I need stuff for the bathrooms, the bedrooms, the entertainment room, and the windows. We got rid of all of the old furnishings – the paintings, the old carpets and wall coverings."
"What are the walls and floors made of?"
"The walls are either plaster and lathe or brick, and the floors are one inch oak planking or slate. They have cleaned up pretty good so far, and are being refinished in a lighter finish. The wall-coverings have all been peeled off and the walls have been primed, and repainted white."
Emma nodded, impressed at Harry's eye for detail. "Harry, if you don't mind my asking, what is your budget for this project?"
"I had budgeted fifty thousand, Ma'am. I don't know if that is enough to get a start with?"
"Fifty thousand Sterling is a lot of money Harry."
"Galleons. That about 220,000 Sterling at the exchange rate that they give me."
"Emma looked exasperated at her daughter's friend. "Harry, we are not going to spend that much money today or in total. Let's start with the things for your entertainment room. She flagged down a saleswoman and explained that they needed her for the afternoon. Emma asked Harry what he was thinking of for the entertainment room.
"I'd like three comfortable leather sofas, either brown, green, or rust, two squashy armchairs, an entertainment center, a television, a DVD player and a CD player."
Hermione smiled at Harry, but had discovered an apparent problem with his thinking. "Harry, there's no electricity in the house."
Harry grinned. "Professor Flitwick and I put it in yesterday. We have over two hundred outlets, ceiling lights, switches, a circuit breaker box and even a meter!"
Hermione winked at Harry. "Very impressive Mr. Potter." They selected three sofas, two were rust, and one a Kelly green color, a nice television, and the other things. For the windows, they selected honeycomb pull up blinds. Emma mentioned that Harry could always add swags or valances later. For each of the guest bedrooms, they selected a queen size bed with a chest of drawers, night stand, a chair, and a lamp for the nightstand. Ginny had picked out different bedspreads, pillows and sheets for each room. For Harry's room, they selected a king size sleigh bed, dresser, chest of drawers, two nightstands, a mirror, a chair, and a lamp. They bought two large area rugs for the entertainment room, and an area rug that nearly fit edge to edge for Harry's room. Finally they found towels and curtains for the different bathrooms
The bill came to 46,220 Pounds! The sales woman asked Dr. Granger how she wanted to pay the bill. Harry smiled at her, trying to avoid an embarrassing moment. "I'm your customer ma'am. I will be paying cash." Harry pulled five bundles of crisp 100-Pound notes from his jacket pocket, each bundle containing a hundred notes. He counted thirty-seven bills and stuffed them back into his pocket. He handed the saleswoman the money, along with the address that he had used the first time.
Emma invited them all over for dinner. She was slightly confused. Hermione had talked about Harry a number of times in the past. She had frequently mentioned his bravery, and his misfortunes regarding his parents, his Godfather, and most recently his aunt and uncle. She had never mentioned him being obviously wealthy. She had never seen anyone pull fifty thousand Pounds Sterling out of his pocket to pay for something.
When they got to the Granger home, Dan Granger took Harry aside and thanked Harry profusely for the gift of a hundred absolutely fabulous bottles of wine. "You're very welcome sir. I hope that you and Mrs. Granger enjoy them." Harry hesitated. "Sir, I need to tell you something. Sirius left some money to Hermione. I took the liberty of opening a Gringotts account for her. Sir, with your permission, I'd like to give Hermione her vault key."
Dan was somewhat amused. The wizarding world had such formal words – vault key. "Certainly Harry. If you don't mind my asking, how much money are you referring to?"
"One hundred thousand Galleons sir."
Dan corrected his thinking - vault key just about covered it. At the exchange rate that he was paying, that must equate to well over half a million in Sterling!!! He replied, "That's a substantial sum Harry. Is there something that she needs to do or sign?"
"Not really sir. I took care of the details at Gringotts. If she has any questions, she can see my banker, Griphook. I'm going to take her for a short walk before dinner sir. We'll be back in twenty minutes." Dan just nodded, not knowing what to tell this young man regarding his daughter's good fortune.
As Harry and Hermione stepped out the back door, Harry wasn't certain what to say. He may have had his guilt absolved regarding Sirius, but his profound sense of guilt for getting Hermione injured so badly hadn't diminished in the least. Hermione didn't seem to feel that way, and did not feel the need to have Harry fall on his sword on her behalf. She took his hand as they walked down the sidewalk. After a minute, she stopped and put her hands on his shoulders. Looking into his emerald eyes she said, "Harry, I need to tell you that all of my injuries have healed. I do not blame you for anything that happened, and I have missed seeing you. I was really sorry to hear about your relatives Harry." There was a tear welling in her eyes.
"Thanks Hermione. I miss seeing you too. I have something for you." He handed her the elegant jewelry box, and she opened it. "Sirius left you some money, and I opened a Gringotts account for you."
She put it in her jeans pocket, and gave Harry a warm kiss and a hug. "Thanks Harry. I really miss him too. Are you OK?"
"I've been keeping busy, and people have been keeping an eye on me." Just then, something caught Harry's eye and he remembered his dream from the night before. Harry grabbed Hermione harder than she would have expected, kissed her, and whispered in her ear, "Do you have your wand?" Hermione squeezed his bum. "I think I saw Pettigrew.
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